The cap is 1.5–4 cm (0.6–1.6 in) in diameter. It is usually pale pink, but can be darker, pinker, or redder. It usually fades with age. At first it is convex, but later flattens, and has a tendency to become wavy. It is smooth and dry. The stem is up to 4 cm (1.6 in) high and the same colour as the cap, and is smooth, or finely fibrillose;[2] often narrowing towards the base, and often misshapen. The gills are adnexed to almost free; sometimes notched and are white, giving a spore print of the same colour. They are quite closely spaced initially. The flesh is white; with very little taste, or smell.

A similar species, Calocybe persicolor (Fr.) Singer, grows in tufts, has a liking for manured ground, and is sometimes recorded as a variety or variant of C. carnea.

Calocybe carnea appears in spring, summer, and early autumn (usually after rain). It is frequent in Britain, Europe, Asia, and North America, growing in grassy meadows and fields and on lawns. It is very rarely found in woods, unless a grassy clearing is present. It seems to tolerate agricultural practices, because its fruiting bodies often appear on fertilized farmland.[3]